Wisdom, Work, Wardrobe
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day one hundred and sixty-two: ABCs #23 Mercedes is in charge costumes, Artie has pull with the jazz ensemble, Rachel has choreography, and Finn... he's got the music.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a second cycle, and then a third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh cycle. Now here's cycle 8!_

_Walking through a bookstore back in december, I saw the series of books by Sue Grafton that go "A is for...," "B is for...," etc, and I got the idea for this set. It will spread over the end of cycle 6, and carry through cycles 7 and 8, to be posted on alternating days. [And by the time we reach the end, Glee will be a week away!!] What I did is I found three words for each letter that would have some significance to Glee, and I built a plot around it. You with me? Okay, here we go..._  
_**23 of 26:** W is for..._

* * *

**"Wisdom, Work, Wardrobe"  
Rachel, Tina, Mercedes, Finn, Artie, Kurt**

Most of them had been handed their marching orders by Finn. If they didn't have a particular task in their name, it didn't take long for them to find someone to assist. Tina had joined Rachel, as had Finn, as she worked out the choreography in the Glee room. Artie was off recruiting the jazz ensemble, and Kurt had gone to assist Mercedes on the wardrobe front.

Mercedes had first accused him of wanting to keep an eye on her, not trusting her fashion judgment. Kurt had just smirked at first. "Trust me, of everyone in there, yours is about the only judgment I would trust… after mine, of course." So on that shaky truce, their partnership had been founded.

Mercedes had suggested they go to her place and check out her clothes for inspiration. They couldn't expect to be off buying new clothes all the time, especially at the moment, without a director… or budget, funds… So they'd have to hope for as much already-owned costuming as they could.

"I'm thinking primary colors… it'll fit the song," Kurt told her as they arrived at Mercedes' house. She stopped and looked back at him, confused/annoyed. "Blue, red…" he started, quietly. Mercedes nodded, interrupting him.

"Red. I have a shirt for that," she moved toward her room and he followed.

"Nice house," he commented as they went. They got to the room and Mercedes went to pull the aforementioned red shirt out, showing it to Kurt. He moved forward to look it over, taking it from her. "That works. I have a shirt that'll match it."

She went to grab something from her dresser, a red band for her hair, just as they both came to the same conclusion regarding the rest of the outfit. Mercedes pulled out a pair of jeans while Kurt reached for sneakers. They put everything in a bag, and they were out.

"My place next," Kurt announced as they got back to the car.

"What about the others?" Mercedes pointed out. After a moment, he pulled out his phone and dialled one of the newly added numbers. He called Tina and, after talking to each of the four, he had four addresses, and four promises that calls would be placed to respective home-bound parents. Each would have a bag ready with the outfit they needed. It was no small stroke of luck that they should already have in hand everything they needed. Rachel called it fate.

So they went to Kurt's house, getting his things, before then driving to each Rachel, Finn, Tina, and Artie's homes. By the end, as they headed back to McKinley, they had six bags lined up on the back seat, and a brand new friendship starting to form in the front seat.

They entered the Glee room, each carrying three bags. Artie was back with the Jazz Ensemble. Tina had run the phone over to him before and, when the bags arrived, she grabbed both of their bags and went back to him. This left Finn and Rachel to run Kurt and Mercedes through the choreography as Rachel had worked it out. As hard as it had been for them to work under Rachel's direction before, there was something different in them now, they could feel it. They reconciled petty differences for the sake of this number which had called on the different qualities they all brought, together into this new whole…

Once Kurt and Mercedes had been brought up to speed, the four picked up their bags and went to change. When they met up again in the hall, decked out in their red shirts, it sent out a spark… this was going to be a moment they'd always remember.

They went to find Tina and Artie in the auditorium. Evidently they'd found the time to change, because when the others arrived, the two were already donning the red. Tina spotted them and she smiled.

"We're all s-set," she announced, looking to the jazz ensemble, who'd also changed.

It wasn't the first time they'd all been up there together, but same as the rest of the experience had been so far, it felt like the first time where it really counted.

Everything was in place, and everyone was ready, which meant all they had to do was to get in place and go for it. The room was quiet as they braced to start, not one sound.

Rachel looked to Artie. He signalled the band, and they played, as the club began to harmonize.

THE END


End file.
